50. Alireza Jahanbakhsh (Iran/NEC)

Carlos Queiroz should have given Alireza Jahanbakhsh, a nippy and skilful right-sided forward, more playing time with Iran needing goals.

Last season, playing as an impact sub for NEC, Jahanbakhsh engineered a comeback with a brace against Ajax.

In that game, Jahanbakhsh played 35 minutes, which was the amount of time he should have averaged at the FIFA World Cup.

NEC dropping to the Eerste Divisie could be a blessing in disguise for Jahanbakhsh, because he should dominate having troubled Eredivisie-standard defences.

Conversely, Jahanbakhsh will be available at a bargain-basement fee.

49. Pepe Reina (Spain/Liverpool)

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With nothing to play for, Spain gave Pepe Reina a run against Australia.

Deputising for an error-riddled Iker Casillas, Reina had a comfortable game as Spain beat an emotionally drained Australia side, still ruing close defeats to Chile and the Netherlands.

Reina's future at Liverpool is dependent on his agent Manuel Garcia Quillon engineering an exit route.

"I have a deal for another two years [with Liverpool], even if I've not yet spoken with the coach [Brendan Rodgers] to see what his plans are," Reina said, per Mundo Deportivo (h/t Nadia Carminati at Sky Sports).

"Now I'm set to end my holidays and my agent [Quillon] is charged to do these things."

48. Nani (Portugal/Manchester United)

Instead of his career charting upwards like compatriot and former United teammate Cristiano Ronaldo, Nani has been on a downward trend.

Nowadays, Nani is often trade bait, as illustrated when he was thrown into a proposed deal for his services plus £50 million to Juventus in return for Arturo Vidal, per Football Italia.

47. Danny Welbeck (England/Manchester United)

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Forget about the FIFA World Cup.

Danny Welbeck is athletic, possesses size and has good work ethic.

He can do a job out wide and has flashed potential up front.

Putting a spin on Welbeck's positives to prospective buyers will be a task for United management given his over-reliance on his physical tangibles, his awkwardness on the ball and him failing the eye test.

Welbeck needs to turn into a world-class centre-forward overnight to have a chance of making an impression under Louis van Gaal.

46. Oleg Shatov (Russia/FC Zenit)

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When Russia host the 2018 FIFA World Cup, will Oleg Shatov have faded back into obscurity or is he a future world-beater?

Shatov did not demand the ball or play with a cutting edge like teammate Viktor Faizulin in the Brazil tournament.

But Shatov showed flickers of promise creating four scoring chances in three World Cup games.

You can envision his style of play matching well in Serie A or the Eredivisie.

43. Luis Garrido (Honduras/Olimpia)

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Former Olimpia midfielder Wilson Palacios transitioned from Honduran football to the Premier League.

That process can be replicated by Luis Garrido.

He will return to Olimpia, per CONCACAF.com, but he should be playing in Europe, whether it is in a developing league such as the Allsvenskan in Sweden or a second-tier league such as the Segunda Division in Spain.

Garrido completed 50 of 60 passes and averaged three interceptions per game during the World Cup.

42. Hotaru Yamaguchi (Japan/Cerezo Osaka)

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Hotaru Yamaguchi has the technique and the ball-retention ability to play in Europe.

Starting in central midfield, he completed 87.1 percent of his 49 passes per game for Japan at the FIFA World Cup.

Yamaguchi should jump at a chance of playing in Europe, otherwise he will wonder "What if?" like compatriot Keita Suzuki.

41. Yacine Brahimi (Algeria/Granada)

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Yacine Brahimi led La Liga in dribbles per game last season (4.7), so it was not a surprise when he evaded tackles, jinked past opposing players and was at times a one-man counter-attack for Algeria at the FIFA World Cup.

Brahimi is an example of a player possessing world-class ability but lacking the end product to take his game to the next level.

23. Tim Howard (United States/Everton)

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It has been a decade since one of Tim Howard's lowest moments.

Playing for Manchester United in the UEFA Champions League round of 16 second leg, he "failed to deal with a routine free-kick from [Benni] McCarthy, leaving Costinha with a simple chance that ended United's dream," per BBC Sport.

Howard never fulfilled his promise at United, whereas it was a career-defining match for then-Porto manager Jose Mourinho.

Coming back to the present, Howard's heroics at the FIFA World Cup not only show how far he has come, but that he should be given another shot at the big-time for a major club.

22. Matteo Darmian (Italy/Torino)

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Matteo Darmian was a spark for Italy as a wing-back at the FIFA World Cup.

In the past two seasons for Torino, he accumulated 264 tackles, so he has endurance and is a ball-winning magnet.

Able to play at full-back or wing-back, Darmian can develop into one of the best defenders of his generation.

17. Julio Cesar (Brazil/Queens Park Rangers)

Teams looking to buy Cesar should disregard the goals conceded statistic because he had a bunch of quitters in front of him.

Cesar is an unwanted man at Queens Park Rangers and should think about moving to Portugal or back to Brazil.

16. Angel Di Maria (Argentina/Real Madrid)

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Angel Di Maria should have had a better FIFA World Cup.

He went from creating 17 goals in La Liga to none at the World Cup. Not to mention, his shooting was off with just one goal from 24 shots.

The major positive, though, was that he surged past opposing players at will.

Despite a career-best season for Real Madrid, Di Maria is inexplicably on the chopping block.

But according to Manu Sainz at AS, Di Maria initiated the transfer speculation since he "wants to leave Real Madrid to play for Paris Saint-Germain."

15. Arturo Vidal (Chile/Juventus)

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Arturo Vidal seemed a step behind play for Chile at the FIFA World Cup.

His tackles per game averaged dropped from 4.1 for Juventus to 1.7 for Chile.

He needs to recuperate and take care of his body.

Paul Pogba's upside means he would be a smarter investment than betting on Vidal, whose lionhearted playing style is not sustainable for the long run.

14. Paul Pogba (France/Juventus)

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Sir Alex Ferguson sticking with Tom Cleverley and running Paul Pogba out of Manchester United is like a high-school coach dropping Michael Jordan for Leroy Smith.

Ferguson probably felt Pogba was just another self-entitled egomaniac.

Instead of being all show, no substance, like Nicklas Bendtner, Pogba took his game to the next level

The failure at United may have triggered Pogba's recent rise, much like Smith's early success over a young Michael Jordan spurred on the basketball icon to greater things, as illustrated by His Airness per The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame:

And then there's Leroy Smith.

Now you guys think that's a myth. Leroy Smith was a guy when I got cut he made the team—on the Varsity team—and he's here tonight.

He's still the same 6'7" guy. He's not any bigger and his game is probably the same.

But he started the whole process with me, because when he made the team and I didn't, I wanted to prove not just to Leroy Smith, not just to myself, but to the coach who actually picked Leroy over me, I wanted to make sure you understood you made a mistake dude.

At 21 years of age, Pogba has won two Serie A titles, a FIFA U-20 World Cup, the U-20 World Cup Golden Ball and the 2014 World Cup Best Young Player award.

It will take a bid of Zinedine Zidane-like proportions to force Juventus into selling Pogba.

13. Juan Cuadrado (Colombia/Fiorentina)

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Juan Cuadrado evolving from an ad-hoc headless-chicken-like runner at Lecce to one of the most productive players at the FIFA World Cup is mind-boggling.

That is the risk of signing Hummels because, if you have followed his career, he is prone to making mistakes.

Does Hummels have a release clause? Who knows.

Only he, his father Hermann, and Borussia Dortmund know the truth, as there are a myriad of contradictions surrounding the finer details of Hummels' contract.

"Hummels is currently contracted until 2017," per Stephan Uersfeld at ESPN FC. "According to media reports, Dortmund bought him out of his release clause."

With Paris Saint-Germain inflating the transfer market by spending €49.5/£39.3 million to secure David Luiz's clownish defending, Borussia Dortmund are within their rights to demand an astronomical fee, assuming there is no release clause in Hummels' contract.

9. Daley Blind (Netherlands/Ajax)

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If Tom Cleverley is reading self-help books on his Kindle to get his confidence up, he should study Daley Blind's career.

Once a pinata constantly barbed with accusations of nepotism (his father, Danny, is an Ajax legend) by frustrated Ajax fans, Blind has turned himself into an invaluable utility player.

He can't take on players like Arjen Robben, doesn't have the vision of Wesley Sneijder and lacks the physical tangibles of Ron Vlaar.

Yet Blind is solid across the board: excellent ball-retention ability, can create scoring chances, runs himself into the ground and is willing to play in any outfield position.

This is what Cleverley needs to do if he wants to have a future at Manchester United.

Blind would be an important squad addition to any major European club.

8. Giancarlo Gonzalez (Costa Rica/Columbus Crew)

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Giancarlo Gonzalez either had the greatest month of his career or is the real deal buried in Major League Soccer.

Having never watched Gonzalez play for the Columbus Crew, it was a shock to see how excellent he was for Costa Rica at the FIFA World Cup.

He led from the back, was a rough tackler, strong in the air and good on the ball.

Tip of the hat to Crew for scouting Gonzalez. After impressing at the World Cup, Crew will consider bids for Gonzalez, per Andrew King at MLSsoccer.com.

Major League Soccer lacks leverage to negotiate Benfica/Porto-like transfer fees, so Gonzalez could be a bargain for European clubs.

7. Alexander Dominguez (Ecuador/LDU Quito)

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Alexander Dominguez is rangy, has very large hands, is 6'3" and has upside as a 27-year-old.

He is entering his prime, and his world-class game against France suggests he should be playing in Europe.

Dominguez's nine saves against France were incredible.

"We had a lot of success in the game before [against Switzerland] because practically every shot went in," French centre-forward Karim Benzema said, per Miguel Delaney at The Independent.

"Why didn't we score [against Ecuador]? Their goalkeeper [Dominguez]. We had chances but he dealt with them all."

Dominguez would be sabotaging his career if he did not take a risk in playing at a European club.

6. Ron Vlaar (Netherlands/Aston Villa)

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In the past, Hong Myung-Bo, Alpay Ozalan and Carlos Gamarra have succeeded at FIFA World Cups, so there is a trend of unheralded defenders overachieving.

That is Ron Vlaar's story because he was rock-solid.

"Ron Vlaar stole the headlines after a wonderful performance against Argentina in the semi-final," per Sam Tighe at Bleacher Report. "A remarkable set of showings from the Aston Villa man."